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Rafa Benitez has challenged Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley to allow him to start building a team that can compete at the top end of the Premier League if he wants him to agree to extend his contract.

On the one hand, he is extremely happy, appreciative of the adulation he receives from supporters and excited about the challenge of returning Newcastle to European football, if he can keep them up this term.

However, his relationship with Ashley has been damaged over the course of three dysfunctional transfer windows, in which he feels not enough has been done to support him, both in terms of investment, but also regarding judgment.

“It’s not that I am right in every decision, but what’s clear is that if you want to be stronger we have to improve and we have to change things,” said Benitez, speaking to Telegraph Sport in Spain during a warm weather training camp.

“I came here with the idea to compete and to create a strong team and a strong club, to compete every year. What we have to do if we stay up, is improve. What I said when I said I wanted to stay [in 2016] was that I could see the potential for this club to be in the top 10 and even higher.

Rafa Benitez has enjoyed the support of Newcastle fans Credit:
GETTY IMAGES

“Higher could be in the top eight, but it doesn’t mean it can be in there one year after finishing 15th for three years in a row. You have to be in the top 10, then the top eight, then top seven, six. It depends on consistency.

“The way Newcastle United were doing things [before I arrived], doesn’t mean they were right, because they were going down. Now we have had the chance to go up and we cannot make the same mistakes again.”

When Benitez agreed to remain as Newcastle manager following relegation in the summer of 2016, he was given complete control of the football side of the business. But he does not feel as though that phrase has delivered the influence he needs.

In three successive transfer windows, Benitez has been frustrated by the failure to act on his advice, which has left him with a squad that lacks quality in key areas and means relegation has been a threat all season. He feels he has masked the mistakes of those above him.

For a manager used to challenging for silverware for the majority of his career, the thought of plodding along, trying to keep Newcastle in the top-flight year after year, does not appeal.

Benitez explained: “Have I enjoyed being Newcastle manager? I enjoy it when we are winning. I like to do well, to do things well and when you can see that something is right, I’m really proud of that.

“But it’s difficult to enjoy it when you are suffering all the time because you have to win and then you lose. The problem in football is, sometimes, you take the responsibility for the mistakes of others.

“I’m sure we can improve the players, improve the team and improve the squad. We can improve some departments and if we do this, then we will be stronger. And then I will enjoy it more, for sure.

“Have I enjoyed this season? No, but maybe the word ‘enjoyment’ is different in English. I’m really pleased with my job. I like it. But enjoyment is when you score eight goals in the Champions League against Besiktas, a record.

“When I hear the supporters singing my name, it makes me very proud, but I also feel that responsibility to do well for them. I am happy with that.

“But when you see fans and they say ‘why this, why that’, it means that still you are doing something wrong. Getting everything right is impossible.

“Still, someone has to make the decisions, someone has to take responsibility. If something is wrong, you have to change, but you don’t have all the tools that you want to have to make the right decisions.”

For Benitez, the 1-0 win over Manchester United last month was the template for what he wants Newcastle to become, but he wants victories like that to become a regular thing, not a once a season shock.

“I think it was the atmosphere,” he explained. “Everything around the game was what you were expecting from this club in the Premier League. That was a good example. And that’s what you want players to be saying when they come to St James’ - ‘wow, you go there and it’s a very intimidating atmosphere’.

“There were a lot of positives. It’s something I think we can replicate week in, week out. We can do it... if we can stay in the Premier League and if we can improve things [but] at the moment, it is difficult.”